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The UK government is being called upon to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5m cost incurred during the recent trips by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to Scotland, according to a top Holyrood official.

Significant Provisional Costs Revealed

Preliminary costs totalling almost £24.5 million for the two official trips have been made public by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the UK government's refusal to provide funding as "ridiculous," stating that both trips were clearly official, noting that the US president held discussions with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his July stay in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Trips and Related Security Expenses

Donald Trump visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie over a week-long period in July, while US vice-president Vance spent approximately a long weekend in Ayrshire in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary stated that the trips placed "significant operational and financial burdens on public services in Scotland, especially the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the provisional cost for policing the presidential visit by itself was £21m, which reflected peak daily deployments of over four thousand police, while expenses for the VP's visit were approximately £3m.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This extensive policing operation was the biggest in the country since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and included local officers, national divisions, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

Robison wrote: "Following your decision not to provide funding to the Scottish government for costs accrued in connection with the visit of President Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the following trip of VP Vance, I am writing you to request that you review this decision and provide full reimbursement for the cost of the visits."

UK Government Reply and Past Precedent

The British administration stated that the visits were private and "not part of official government duties." A representative commented: "The Scottish government must cover security expenses in Scotland as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary referenced past instances where the British administration reimbursed the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is understood that visit came after a formal invitation from Westminster, in which case it covered protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer meeting with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with him, engaging in global diplomacy with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a personal vacation."